Dorothy Lorraine Spardy

Dorothy Lorraine Spardy, beloved wife of the late Ernie Spardy, loving mother of Diane, Debbie, Karen, Ernie (Tammy), Maura, Jeff (Ofelia), and Cheryl, grandmother of fourteen and great grandmother of six, passed peacefully to be with the Lord on Dec. 1, 2021 in her home in Tamarac, Florida at the age of 93 with loving family at her side.

Born on April 3, 1928, to parents Walter and Mildred Schuessler, Dorothy was the oldest child and grew up with siblings Dick, Bob, Bill, Don, and Lorraine in Pittsburgh, PA. She lived in Pittsburgh until 1972 when she moved to South Florida.

Dorothy met Ernie, the love of her life, when she was 14 and he was 16 and he asked her on their first date, a school picnic at Kennywood Park. She graduated high school in 1946 and in June of 1947, Dorothy and Ernie entered into a loving lifelong marriage. After Ernie passed from health challenges in 2001, Dorothy held his love and memories close. She titled a family album of their life story, “We Lived. We Laughed. We Loved.”

Dorothy genuinely enjoyed cooking and feeding nine at the family table with homemade meals every day. Her hobbies included sewing and reading. Having lived through the Great Depression and World War II before graduating high school, she also enjoyed a lifelong interest in history. But far and away, Dorothy’s greatest joy in life was raising her seven children, by example, to understand that the greatest gift we can give each other is to be a close, loving family. Her greatest pride was seeing her children maintain that closeness through adulthood to today, and passing the same values to her 14 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

A Visitation will be held at Kraeer Funeral Home in Coral Springs on Sunday, Dec 5, from 6:30-9:00 p.m. A private funeral will take place Monday with an 11:00 a.m. Mass and entombment at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale, FL.

In lieu of flowers, Dorothy requested donations to Holy Cross Hospital. (Designate Unrestricted/Undesignated)